Mampho Brescia is glamorous. There, I said it. Even in a pair of shorts whilst tucking into some edamame beans, she exudes a worldly glow that speaks to her global outlook.
The fact that she can break into Japanese and Italian with breezy insouciance adds to the general effect. She has a kind of Old Hollywood presence, as if she is glimmering on a silver screen. She’s also damn fine company. I meet her for lunch in Hyde Park at So Yum for dim sum and a tutorial in how to be a global citizen while staying true to your roots.
She spent two years in Tokyo on a scholarship studying East Asian politics after her undergraduate degree in politics and international relations. “It was a culture shock, as if you are deaf, dumb and blind. You can’t speak or read the language and you are thrown into another planet. All of Asia is like that to a degree — but students from all over the world are thrown together. You have to learn three types of alphabet in order to write. That was the toughest part.”
I ask her what she thinks of the Japanese princess who has abandoned her position in order to marry her commoner husband. “We live in such different times I think it is beautiful that she has the freedom to do that. We have been constricted into these archetypes in society — you are this or that — and you can’t be anything other, so it is a brilliant evolution.”
How did living in Japan change her? “You cannot go to Japan and not be transformed, they have a spirit of selflessness. So where American culture is all about me, me, me, hustle, hustle, Japanese culture is so different. I remember my teacher would pull me by the ear if I was late for class. There is this level of discipline, you have to be on time, work hard, perform or the entire class is punished and loses out. It’s called Kambaro Kambade — we all work together for the progress of every person, and that is the philosophy I still espouse.”
She became a brand ambassador for Japan, and it is clear she would make a damn fine diplomat for SA but acting is her great love. “[Filmmaker] Gavin Hood said to me that in order to be a great actor you have to have experiences of life and understand people and humanity so that there is a level of empathy in your character. You have to know the world — it helps you to formulate a full person so that your portrayal isn’t shallow.” And anyone following her character development for eight years on Isibaya will know that she profoundly internalised this message.
“On the back of District 9 I moved to Los Angeles — I got to feed my art and live the full life of an actor. But when I went to LA my husband and I were already married — it simply became unsustainable and we wanted to start a family and I was struggling because I had fertility issues and we literally had to freeze his sperm and fly it over. I did not want to do the process by myself. It was such an emotionally taxing time. I was all clear that should we have to adopt she would be African.” Which is what they did.
“Rainne Madison [her daughter] is incredible. Adoption was the best decision I made. We went through the adoption agency process, which is very rigorous, and they told us that it will take at least a year. I was just starting Isibaya and planning to take a trip to Italy when they phoned to say she will be with us by April. Four months as opposed to the year we thought we had. We cancelled the trip and had to fast-track everything. I had to go back to work four days after she was born. It was a very mad year but also the happiest year.”
How does she feel about the end of Isibaya? “It is bittersweet, but change is an inevitability we can’t avoid. And Rainne missed out on me because I was so engrossed. Now I have time for other projects and I am enjoying being a mom and a wife. Last year in the lockdown I worked; now I am at home.” Mampho is being very understated, she shot two films for Showmax (including the remake of Eraser) and a Netflix show in this “quiet” year.
With an Italian husband, how does she manage to integrate Italian and South African culture in her marriage? “Culture is learnt behaviour but it should not prohibit one from asserting oneself outside of one’s culture. We have created our own culture — let’s embrace what is different. If I don’t like it, ask questions. It hasn’t been a challenge. I make my own rules as I go along — I don’t want to live according to societal archetypes that don’t serve me or my purpose.”
Mampho's tattoo on her wrist spells AI — love in Kanji, which is one of the three forms of Japanese. It seems just about right.
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